Life has been extremely busy. But I’ve been reading some stuff, though not really posting.

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Not as interesting or as good as the Mercy Thompson series. But it was OK. I just don’t exactly love it. The characters were interesting, but I still think that everything happened far too soon for them all to develop any deep connection (especially between Anna and Charles). And maybe it wasn’t my kind of plot.

The sequel(s) won’t be on top of my list, unlike the Mercy books, but I’ll probably still read them.

Friday’s Child by Georgette Heyer

I read this mainly for writing inspiration (and, fortunately, I managed to write some 700-words afterward). The story was very light, not very serious, and rather sappy but it was a nice read to pass the time. The best thing I liked about this book is how well the author fleshed out the supporting characters, which made it more enjoyable.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

I read the first three books, started on the first when it wasn’t popular a few years back, and though the sequels turned out to be worse than the first, I thought I ought to finish what I started. But I saw this and I couldn’t get past the first few pages reading it word-for-word, so I skimmed and read a Wikipedia summary. Three words: WHAT THE FUCK.

And that doesn’t even sum up my horror.

I believe Meyer was abducted by aliens and her brain experimented upon before she wrote this. And so did her editors’, for publishing this.

Started/Finished Reading: March 2, 2008

The story is not as gripping as other books I’ve read before but what I appreciate most in this novel is that the plot is no fairy tale. It does not delude the readers about one-true-loves. In fact, it illustrates two different kinds of love: the passionate and the long-lasting, comfortable sort.

Adam, faced with a ruined estate and debts left by his father, the late Viscount, sacrifices his love for Julia in order to marry the heiress Jenny. Jenny, though rich, is plain and practical and is no beauty. Even Adam, though with his merits, is not the handsomest man that walked upon the earth. There had to be something other than attraction to make their relationship work because even though Jenny loved Adam, it was one-sided. He came to treasure her as someone whom he learned to trust and depend on and not as the woman he wished he could have made his wife. I think that it is this unusual circumstance — a marriage of convenience that did not grow mutual passion between the hero and heroine — is what kept me interested in the story.

I like the way the book ends. The relationship between Jenny and Adam has developed and changed greatly, though it seems it will never be lust-filled like other historical romances I’ve read. This is reality. Adam is no Prince-upon-a-white-horse and Jenny is no beautiful damsel. Their relationship is not perfect, their marriage not the most ideal either, but it works out because everyone knows that we can’t have everything we want and in reality, we have to make do with what we have.